Actor Ian McKellen became the latest star to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in the United Kingdom, BBC News reported on Thursday.
The 81-year-old actor, who has starred in the “Lord of the Rings” and “X-Men” franchises, was part of a high-risk group of people who were among the first to be eligible to be vaccinated, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
McKellen said that he felt “euphoric” to receive the vaccine, according to BBC, and wrote on Twitter, “I would have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone.”
McKellen also encouraged others to get the vaccine when they are able.
“It is invasive of course, it looks like a weapon — a needle — but it isn’t, it’s a friend,” he said, according to USA Today. ”I would encourage everybody to do the sensible thing, not just for themselves but for everybody else because if you’re virus-free that helps everybody else, doesn’t it?”
The first British celebrity to be vaccinated publicly was 80-year-old “Great British Baking Show” host Prue Leith, who shared a photo of the experience on social media, USA Today reported.
Those who are over 80 years of age, as well as frontline health care workers, are among the first groups in the U.K. to receive the vaccine, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“Anyone who has lived as long as I have is alive because they have had previous vaccinations,” McKellen said, according to BBC.
The United Kingdom was the first Western nation to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine earlier this month, according to CNN.
In the United States, the first doses of the vaccine were administered on Monday, according to Fox.